Cristiano Ronaldo lauded the impact made by Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane as the Frenchman led the Spanish giants into the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday.
Brazilian midfielder Fernando’s first-half own-goal was the only difference between the sides over two legs as Real set up a repeat of the 2014 final against local rivals Atletico Madrid in Milan, Italy, on May 28.
Zidane replaced the sacked Rafael Benitez with Madrid in crisis in January, but has sparked just Real’s second run to the final in the 14 years since he scored the winning goal against Bayer 04 Leverkusen for Real in 2002.
Photo: AFP
“Zidane is doing a great job,” Ronaldo said. “I admire him as a coach and a person, I hope he continues in the job.”
“We’ve always been behind Zidane because he is a humble person who likes to listen, and that always makes things easier,” he said.
Ronaldo made his return after a three-game absence due to a thigh injury, but was unable to match his own record of 17 Champions League goals in a single season in a tight game short on clear-cut chances.
“It was a complete game, the team played really well and we could have finished them off with a second goal — 1-0 is a tight scoreline, but it’s enough,” Ronaldo said.
Zidane admitted he could bask in some of the glory for Real’s resurgence of 19 wins in his 24 games in charge, but reserved his praise for the players.
“I am the coach, so I am doing something right for sure, but it is not just me,” the Frenchman said. “It is a question of all the people working with me and the most important people are the players. It is them that allow you to win in football.”
By contrast, City coach Manuel Pellegrini will give way to Pep Guardiola at the end of the season having failed to get them to a final in his three seasons in charge.
The Chilean lamented his side’s luck as Gareth Bale’s intended cross deflected off Fernando and looped over the helpless Joe Hart for the only goal of the tie.
However, Pellegrini admitted City had not created nearly enough to merit a place in the final.
“Neither of the two teams deserved to win the game,” Pellegrini said.
“I don’t think we saw a superior Madrid, we pressed them, but with the ball we lacked the creativity to do damage,” he said. “There was lot of work in the 180 minutes, but very little football.”
However, Pellegrini defended his record having taken City to the last four for the first time and believes they will have the potential to go all the way under Guardiola.
“I think it is a special season because we have reached the semis,” he said.
Madrid took charge of the game from the start, while City defended deep.
Even though Madrid were missing the injured Karim Benzema, it rapidly became clear that the team had enough firepower to challenge the City defense, who suffered an early blow when injury-prone captain Vincent Kompany limped off after 10 minutes.
After 20 minutes, Real Madrid were rewarded for their constant pressure — even if that reward still required an element of luck.
Dani Carvajal ran forward unchallenged on the right side before sliding the ball ahead to Bale at the near post. Bale, who has recently been at his best for Madrid in Ronaldo’s absence, hit a powerful shot from a tight angle.
While the shot might otherwise have been parried in normal circumstances, the ball looped over Hart after glancing off Fernando’s leg.
The goal was officially attributed to the unfortunate Fernando rather than Bale.
Even though Madrid’s goal meant City needed to push forward in search of an equalizer, City struggled to find a way to raise the tempo.
City’s sole chance of the first half came when Kevin De Bruyne fed a ball on the left to Fernandinho, whose low shot skidded past the post of goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
In one of the most bizarre moments of the game, Ronaldo rose for a high cross and then caught the ball with both hands before pushing it into the net.
Only the fact that he had been offside spared Ronaldo a yellow card.
Additional reporting by NY Times News Service
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